City Council Meeting

The North Plains City Council met on October 20, 2025, with the session dominated by an after-action review of the Garlic Festival rail incident, department status reports, and ongoing regional funding conversations.

Highlights

🚨 TVF&R recapped the Garlic Festival rail blockage, emphasizing unified command, rapid hazmat deployment, and lessons for future crowd management.
🚓 Police continue the parking education placard campaign and are planning broader Domestic Violence Awareness Month outreach.
💧 Public Works is onboarding a new operations supervisor, elevating internal talent, and managing a water-crew transition.
🏘️ Planning Commission advanced DLCD grant work and code updates; council signaled thanks and next steps.
🏛️ Regional partners flagged looming funding constraints, prompting council to prioritize services and deepen inter-city coordination.

Garlic Festival Rail Incident Debrief (TVF&R)

Battalion leadership described establishing a unified command between TVF&R, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and city staff to manage the stalled Portland & Western train that bisected the Garlic Festival crowd of roughly 25,000 attendees.
HazMat Team 9—one of the state fire marshal teams TVF&R staffs—arrived within 30 minutes to evaluate the 132-car train; stopping additional rail traffic and confirming empty fuel tanks reduced immediate risk.
Incident priorities included triage for potential injuries, rapid manifest checks with the conductor, and crowd control amid high temperatures; responders planned for relief rotations to limit heat stress.
Chiefs Pimentel and Jones coordinated reunification of festival-goers with their vehicles and families while Portland & Western crews worked to clear the crossing by approximately 4:30 p.m.
Staff are pressing the railroad for a formal explanation of the derailment cause; council will be briefed once the inquiry concludes.
TVF&R highlighted new capabilities with the county’s alert system to push targeted evacuation messages to cell phones and landlines within about 20 minutes, identifying it as a key improvement for future large-scale events.

Department Reports

Police: The parking education placard program continues, with improvements noted in neighborhoods like Bridland. October domestic violence awareness activities are underway, and Councilor Penn suggested exploring a 2026 “Coffee with a Cop” partnership with local advocates—an idea the department welcomed.
Public Works: A new operations supervisor joins on November 10, and Matthew Schnep has been promoted to water distribution lead. One veteran water technician is departing for the private sector, so the team is adjusting staffing and recruitment while keeping critical infrastructure projects—including fiber build-out planning—moving forward.

Council & Regional Updates

Council thanked the Planning Commission—along with Ed Rowan—for advancing the DLCD grant work and taking a hard look at development and building code updates requested earlier this year.
Mayor Lenahan briefed colleagues on Washington County Coordinating Committee and Mayor/Chairs discussions, noting widespread concern about future county and state funding shortfalls. Council will begin service-prioritization and strategic-planning work so the city can pivot quickly if revenues tighten.
The mayor is strengthening ties with neighboring cities and county leadership, meeting with the mayors of Banks and Cornelius, Commissioner Wy, and candidates for county offices.
Councilors were encouraged to spend time with city staff, maintain visibility at facilities, and fill upcoming liaison slots—such as the Economic Development Committee on November 5 and the Library Board on November 19.

Follow-Ups & Action Items

TVF&R and the city will continue coordinating with Portland & Western Railroad for the formal incident report and future festival logistics.
Staff will test countywide alert tools during upcoming exercises to confirm readiness for large-scale evacuations or detours.
Police will keep deploying parking placards and scope a domestic-violence-focused Coffee with a Cop event for next year.
Public Works will onboard the new supervisor, backfill water operations, and report back on residential fiber service plans.
Council will schedule the anticipated service-prioritization workshop and return with recommendations on safeguarding essential programs.